Taking the advice with a grain of salt was an inner-west investor who bought a two-bedroom apartment at 214/28 Bellevue Street, Surry Hills, for $890,000 at auction. It sold $10,000 shy of the reserve. She was one of two investors from the four registrations. She could expect a rental return of $850-$900 a week.

This two-bedroom apartment at 214/28 Bellevue Street, Surry Hills, sold for $890,000 at auction - $10,000 shy of the reserve. Photo: Supplied

The 96 square metre warehouse conversion, with two bathrooms, a balcony, parking and a strata levy of $1312 a quarter, was one of 432 Sydney auctions listed at the weekend.

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With 311 of the results in by Saturday evening, the Domain Group put the clearance rate at 72.7 per cent.

Auctioneer Ricky Briggs from Cooley Auctions had a small crowd of 30 at the auction and an opening offer of $800,000 before the investor snapped it up.

“I found the warning to be relevant but we didn’t want to keep on looking at more properties,” the new owner said.

“The price was a little on the high side but Surry Hills has good rental returns and there is a lack of stock. Our kids may study in the area soon and we wouldn’t mind living here down the track, it’s vibrant.”

A Pyrmont investor at the auction, but who did not register to bid, said it was too expensive. He added: “I think what Glenn Stevens said was true; some investors get emotional and pay whatever the price is. In this market it’s good to be prudent.”

This one-bedroom apartment at 205/6A Birtley Place, Elizabeth Bay sold for $870,000 to a local couple. The reserve was $900,000. Photo: Supplied

Vendors Petra Besta and Bettina Kurth, who bought the Delano Apartments property off the plan in 1999 for $340,000 said they would have liked to get a bit more but generally were happy with the price.

“I think our expectations were too high but we agreed to come down in price since it was close to the reserve,” Ms Besta said.

“This location is so convenient with cafes, restaurants, Central Station and even to go watch the footy is very close, you can walk everywhere.”

This five-bedroom mansion at 79 Kennedy Street, Picnic Point sold for $1.6 million, $150,000 above the reserve. Photo: Supplied

Belle Property agent Scott Aggett said it was a good result to get close to the reserve. He issued 13 contracts and had 100 group inspections, half of whom were investors.

“The key factor we wanted was a competitive auction and we had that,” he said. “I thought we would have three registrations but ended up having four, and two were investors.

“The warning hasn’t spooked any investors that registered today. Surry Hills is the most searched suburb on Domain.com.au after Sydney. We are seeing consistent growth throughout the year as investors are lifestyle buyers but winter is best for seeing investor competition.”

This two-bedroom apartment at 9/5 Croydon Street, Petersham, sold for $810,000, $60,000 more than the reserve. Photo: Supplied

The Domain Group Senior Economist, Dr Andrew Wilson, said investors were using their heads but still looking to buy.

“Surry Hills is an inner-city location with solid one-year growth of 12 per cent and low vacancy rates," he said. "Why wouldn’t you invest?”

“There are no signs of rents or vacancy falling, the rental return median is $550 a week, the median apartment price is $610,000 and the average yield is 4.7 per cent.

“The RBA advice is just 'megaphone economics', it’s just a warning. We are at a record of investors buying and this is because of strong price growth and low interest rates.

“As soon as the prices even out, the carnival will go elsewhere, probably north to Queensland.”

Investors were at Mirvac’s Harold Park release on Saturday where 84 apartments were offered at between $550,000 to $1.595 million.

Rhodes couple Catherine and Graham Morgan bought a one-bedroom apartment for $675,000 that they would put into their self-managed super fund. It was their third investment property but first in Sydney. They could expect a rental return of $700 a week.